Humboldt County

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Only English

103,714

93.72%

109,493

91.69%

Spanish

2,417

2.18%

5,442

4.56%

Other Indo-European*

2,748

2.48%

2,567

2.15%

Asian Language**

1,410

1.27%

1,276

1.07%

Other

380

0.34%

645

0.54%

Total Population Age 5+

110,669

100.00%

119,423

100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

2,142

39.36%

Other Indo-European*

581

22.63%

Asian Language**

643

50.39%

Other Language

172

26.67%

Total

3,538

2.96%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

791

32.73%

Other Indo-European*

794

28.89%

Asian Language**

929

65.89%

Other Language

104

27.37%

Total

2,618

2.37%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.